Post navigation

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike…

If you cycle in, or through, Twickenham, then please click here to go to the Twickenham Area Action Plan consultation page on the Council website.

If you cycle then some of the words on the page are encouraging, like “improvements to the environment, traffic management, public transport and pedestrian and cycle links will be required”

Unfortunately the 8 page consultation leaflet “Twickenham Rediscovered, looking back looking forward” available at yesterday’s public meeting and here doesn’t actually use the words “bicycle”, “cycling” or “cyclist”. “Cycle” does appear, once, on page 3:

“Limited widening of eastern footway in London Road through removal of cycle lane”

In the document you’re either traffic or pedestrian and if you’re pedestrian then you’ll be pleased to know the impact of traffic is being reduced, mainly by widening pavements.

Now I’m sure when the word pedestrian is used the author had cyclists in their mind’s eye, after all there’s a bike in the drawing on page 6, parked in the middle of an imagined King Street, just like they do in Kensington High Street. But it doesn’t say that and cyclists aren’t pedestrians, except when we’re required to dismount and push our bikes.

There again maybe I’m wrong because our aspirations for the Crane Valley Route providing a traffic free journey through Twickenham and Moor Meads Park is undermined by repeated reference to the “River Crane walkway”.

Please take the opportunity to comment by completing the questionnaire here pointing out the lack of any explicit reference to the needs of cyclists, including secure cycle parking spaces.

The closing date is 22nd July

Talking of which you may want to keep an eye here on the planning application for re-development of Twickenham Railway Station that includes

“250 covered cycle spaces for commuters, 208 covered cycle spaces for residents and provision of a river walkway”

Click here for what we’ve said before about cycle parking at railway stations, including Twickenham.

Some interesting numbers from yesterday’s meeting included:

2000 vehicles an hour through Twickenham during the peak, dropping to 80% of that, still 1600 vehicles, off-peak.

For the imagined King Street to work the off-peak figure needs to drop to 65%, 1300 vehicles. So 300 drivers need to get out of their vehicles and use another way to get around: maybe cycle?

If King Street is pedestrianised off-peak traffic will be diverted to London Road via Arragon Road.

Note it says on page 5 “Transport proposals will be subject to further detailed testing to ensure they do not have an unacceptable impact on the highway network.”